Touch-first Office for Windows, other platforms to come ‘eventually’

Microsoft confirmed this week that it plans to release touch-first versions of Office for Windows 8’s “Modern” interface as well as bringing the experiences across to other platforms such as iOS and Android.

The news was announced at Microsoft’s financial analyst meeting earlier this week. The applications they are currently building are code-named “Gemini” and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, according to ZDNet.

At the moment, the only Office applications available on iOS and Android are Lync (chat), Skydrive and a basic version of Office for Office 365 customers. A full version of Office across platforms would help the company keep their stranglehold on companies around the world that are slowly looking to other options such as Google Docs to replace Office in their businesses.

It was a bit bizarre that Microsoft launched Windows 8 without a modern interface version of Office, instead opting to stick to the desktop, so it’s great news that the company is building those applications finally.